selving

Etymology

From self + -ing.

selving means the formation or modification of one's identity. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 74 out of 100.

Why this word is great

SELVING — [Noun] The active, ongoing process of forming or modifying one's own identity. From the noun self, meaning 'one's own person', combined with the suffix -ing, which forms a noun of action or result. Unlike "individuation" (which implies a teleological march toward a distinct, integrated whole) or "self-actualization" (which suggests a summit of potential reached), selving is the foundational, perpetual labor of assembly and revision. It is the adolescent trying on a persona like a borrowed coat, the quiet disavowal of a parent's prejudice, and the deliberate curation of a bookshelf that tells you who you are—the lifelong and lonely craft of building a person from the inside out.

noun

The formation or modification of one's identity.“The selving process is one that cannot be reduced to origins or to a repetition of antecedent/repressed conditions.”